Gully Oven dedication a fitting tribute for sisters

Lebanon 4H Clovers perform at Sunday's dedication of the Gully Oven Natural Area. From left, Tessa Cyr, Baily Cyr, Ecco Balistreri, Tiger Lily Goldenberg, Will Cheever, Sydney Cheever, Autumn Goldenberg and Lucky Cyr. (Lebanon Voice photo)

WEST LEBANON - Like the glacial rivers that helped create Gully Oven, so it was on Sunday that a confluence of history, volunteerism and an appreciation for nature flowed seamlessly in a tribute for two women who did so much for Lebanon.

And so was born the new and improved Gully Oven Natural Area.

The two women for whom the park was dedicated, sisters Marjorie Blood and Bea Lord, both died in 2013, but their legacy of devotion to the town and its history will now not soon be forgotten.

For longtime Lebanon Historical Society President Nancy Wyman, who knew both women well, the dedication of the park to Blood and Lord was fitting.

"This was the perfect thing for a dedication to those two," Wyman said. "They both loved Lebanon, loved nature and loved to walk."

The kiosk and top of the newly refurbished steps that lead to the Oven.

Lord and Blood, along with longtime Historical Society member Barbara Sewell who attended the ceremony, did much of the research and writing for various chapters of the town's history that the society has produced as well as a book about the Awesome Women of Lebanon.

The park's improvements, which include a stone marker, kiosk and wooden steps down the steepest part of the park that leads to Gully Oven, were made possible by funding from the Lebanon Historical Society, which donated the money to the town's Conservation Commission.

Wyman said she asked the commission to try to find a project that would be a fitting tribute to the two sisters and was thrilled when they settled on Gully Oven.

Conservation Commission chair John Bozak then spearheaded the effort culminating in Sunday's ceremony, which was made doubly special with a large contingent from the sisters' family on hand for the occasion.

A plaque at the new kiosk dedicates the park to Marjorie Blood and Bea Lord of Lebanon for their hard work and dedication to the town.

The Conservation Commission also produced an informational brochure on the Gully that details its archeological and cultural history as well as its surrounding flora and fauna.

A group of about 50 attended the roadside ceremony, which afterward moved to the Oven where the Lebanon Clovers 4H Club played several patriotic songs as many stood or sat high above on the cliffs looking down on the performers.

The Oven's acoustics were found to be just as good as advertised by famed 19^th-century Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, who owned a summer home in West Lebanon and often gave free concerts here for locals.

West Lebanon violinist Milt Jackson was among those who played to the delight of spectators.

Milt Jackson, right plays an impromptu fiddling duet with another violinist in Gully Oven on Sunday.